Statewide home sales totaled 132,566 in 2013, a 14.7 percent increase from 2012, and the best yearly total since 2007. Meanwhile, the average sale price reached $142,004, a 5.2 percent increase, according to a news release from the Ohio Association of Realtors.

The year-end numbers reflect a "balance, stable and growing marketplace," Chris Hall, president of the association, said in the release.

STARK SALES UP

In Stark County, 2013 sales were up 9 percent over 2012. The median sale price jumped to $100,000, up 11.1 percent from the year prior, said Dave Maltese, president of the Stark County Association of Realtors.

"We have seen really strong home sales this past year," he said. "The market's rebounding."

Sales last month were up 4.8 percent compared to December 2012, while the median sale price was up 6.5 percent. Pending sales were up 13 percent in December 2013 compared to the same period a year ago — the third year in a row for such growth, he said.

While sales tend to slow over the holiday season, 2013 bucked the trend, as the market continued at a strong pace throughout the holidays, Maltese said.

Houses also are selling faster in Stark County. Homes were on the market an average of 78 days, compared to an average of 115 days in 2011, he said.

The association anticipates similar growth in 2014, as interest rates are expected to remain stable. "It's just a steady kind of growth," Maltese said.

A strong housing market is good for the area and tends to create an economic "ripple effect," he said.

When people buy homes, they also tend to buy carpet, furniture and other items. And when someone sells a home, they're buying something else, he said.

As in the past, when home sales grow, so do other industries, he said.

The average sales price was $135,761 — a 5.9 percent decrease from 2012’s average price of $128,191. But dollar volume increased 18.6 percent to $5.76 billion.

Statewide sales increased 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, totaling 29,989, up from 28,117 during the same period a year ago. It was the best fourth quarter since 2006, when sales hit 31,798. It was the 10th consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains, according to the state association release.

Sales in December 2013 were 9,317, a 9.7 percent increase from December 2012. December was the 30th consecutive month of year-over-year gains in sales — the longest stretch of uninterrupted growth since the association began compiling sales data 16 years ago.